Translation of Acción piece

[ETA: I’ve been informed that this translation is illegal. I’m indexing this post and leaving it here for now, but if I am asked directly to remove it, I will. A .pdf of this part, along with the bio that accompanied the original article, which is not included here, is currently available at RichardArmitageNet.com, so if it’s important to you to save a copy, download it there. In that translation, “ensayo rodado” is translated as “filmed rehearsal” on the recommendation of Antonia Romera; below, Violet suggests “extended take.”]

Hi, here’s my translation. I made it for RA Net, and when it posts there, I will take it down from here. Enjoy. Corrections welcome. I have a BA in Spanish, but I’m not a native speaker.

Exclusive: Richard Armitage

Interviewer: Jesús Usero

Perhaps in in our country he may be more known for his television roles in series like Robin Hood or Strike Back, but we have also seen him in Captain America. All of this remains tiny in comparison with his most recent job, Thorin, the dwarf leader in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. An experience that the actor himself says that, if it were the last one of his life, it would make him happy. And he tells us all this in an exclusive interview he gave to Acción.

The first thing we’d like to do is thank you for your time and ask what you can tell us about The Hobbit, one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Well, I think that the reason that it might be one of the most anticipated films of the year is that it’s going to be a cinematographic event like no one has seen before, which has to do mainly with the return to Middle Earth and the way that Peter has created this work, in 3D, filming at 48 frames per second … I think it will be a very special event.

And how did you get a role in such a special project?

I got to do an audition for two roles: one for Bard and the other for Thorin, and then I met Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and I didn’t prepare anything from the film, but rather a mixture of everything in which Thorin believes and all of his characteristics, I read this and we talked about the character, about Middle Earth, about how the film would be. … And we talked about Thorin’s quest, his dignity, his mission to recover his homeland … and it seemed that we had similar ideas and they offered me the role. When I met them, I had just injured my shoulder in a television role, and it hurt quite a bit, I had taken some relaxants, but they didn’t have much effect (laughs) … but I believe that they noticed a certain pain in my voice and my eyes that somehow helped me to personify Thorin.

Was there any point at which you thought you would pass up the role, say no to this film?

No, on the contrary, I don’t know how I would have been able not to do it. I remember when they were making the first films, and I would have liked to have been part of them. And when this appeared on the path … Obviously I knew they were going to film The Hobbit, but all the while it was delayed, and delayed, and I couldn’t believe that in the end we would be making the film, delayed, and I told Peter, I would have given my arm to work on it, and although I don’t think it will happen, if this were my last job, I would still be very, very happy.

And with all these delays that you mention, was there any moment in which you were afraid for the film, at which you thought to yourself that The Hobbit was a project that would never be filmed?

Yes, and I remember that a moment came when they were saying to me that they had to make a decision, because I had already turned down one project in order to be in The Hobbit, but the film was not getting a green light to be filmed. But I knew that it was going to be made, I knew that Peter was going to get to finish making it. And when you have the chance to do this role … you don’t think about other options. I remember saying to myself, if I make this act of faith, if I decide to stick with it, then the film will be made. And here we are, talking about a film that will be screened this Christmastime.

Definitely. And what do you like best about Thorin? What attracts you most about this character?

I think that what I like best about him is the idea that Thorin develops in a very unexpected way, the way in which he changes over the length of his life. It is a very interesting path that he travels. There’s a piece of guilt in him, but also a big piece of ferocity, a big internal struggle with himself, with which he begins the adventure, and all the catastrophic events that happen over the length of the story create an interesting drama, inside the character and at the same time, in the story. But at the same time, around the end of the film, there’s a feeling that the character achieves what he deserves, and that his relationship with Bilbo, which goes from the beginning to the end of the film, is a relationship that helps him to understand who he is. That this relationship in constant development makes Thorin who he is.

And how was your arrival in this very special universe? How was it to arrive in New Zealand and see the sets and the whole operation?

I think that this is part of what made of this a different experience for everyone. You go to the other side of the world, and coming from the UK I can’t think of many places much further away to go, unless it would be the South Pole. Basically, this experience makes you think that you’re taking a long trip to do it, that you’re going to Middle Earth, because I think that a lot of people see New Zealand as Middle Earth, and you’re going to see these places, the ones that appear in the first films, and you’re going to travel to this magical land. And from the moment in which we got on the plane, we were going on creating this sort of mystique in which our characters were going to exist. One of the most memorable moments for me was, the first day of filming, the ceremony on the set that the Kiwis [as they lovingly call the inhabitants of New Zealand] did, and it was right before we started to film for the first time, even though it was at night, we were in the entry to the studio and the sun was starting to set, while they were singing a song, the song of blessing. It was such an emotional moment, I thought, that we would all be blessed filming this film in this so special place.

And I assume that it will have been an extended filming period, more than a year. How did you live there?

It was about 18 months, because we got there at the beginning of 2011 and we left in August of 2012, so that probably it was about 18 months. And part of what made the experience so special was spending all this time with the people you are working with there, to feel yourself part of a long journey that isn’t even over yet. But it is something that unites people. You can talk with anyone who worked on The Lord of the Rings, and the feeling is the same. It’s a time that you spend together, you work in such unity … that it is something that I will never forget.

As well as Peter Jackson, who is one of the most important directors of our age. How was it to work with him?

From the first moment I was with him in a room, and he told me about the character, and the way in which he shaped it, I knew that Peter was a person very similar to me. He doesn’t like to lose time, he likes the camera to be filming constantly, and he does this thing he calls ensayo rodado [there’s probably a jargon word for this – possibly “one- take”?], where there’s no cut between takes, and then he ends up using it, I call this masterwork. I give the best of myself when I am working and working in the character without many cuts. But also at moments of doubt, when you feel like you’re not inhabiting your character, and you turn to him and you know, because you’ve seen it in the Lord of the Rings films, that he has all the characters in mind, that they will all appear, each with his own individual delight, because there’s not one single weak character in The Lord of the Rings. So that even when you plunge in, when you know that you are in deep waters, he is going to get you to the other side perfectly.

Sure, came after Rocket science and before Maths 😉
By the way, I was just thinking that an RA fan has the edge when translating an interview like this. I mean we all know how he ‘sounds’ when answering such questions and you’ve certainly read your fair share of them. Just a thought, as it’s really RAish to read!

I translated this *very* literally. So if there’s a place where a verb tense sequence didn’t make sense to me, as if he got lost in his thoughts, that’s reflected in the interview. It read to me like someone had taped the interview and then translated the tape into English, very stream of consciousness.

Thanks, Servetus. I was going to cancel an appointment so I could charge out and go into town tomorrow morning on the early train, then hunt at the newsagents. I still want to get a copy of the magazine, and of course, I speak, read, and write Iberian Spanish. It sounds like you didn’t miss a trick.

I adore this part: “we were in the entry to the studio and the sun was starting to set, while they were singing a song, the song of blessing. It was such an emotional moment, I thought, that we would all be blessed filming this film in this so special place.”

Wow! I think most of us felt what he described as we watched that ceremony. Can this get any better?!!

Thanks for the “youthful” translation. My 1yr of Jr. high, 1 yr of high school and 1 yr of college Spanish didn’t get me very far. 🙂

My spoken Spanish isn’t that great anymore because I almost only ever speak German, and on top of that my Spanish sounds very Mexican. I sort of fell asleep when we were supposed to learn those Iberian verb forms. But you should get together with Leigh. Hers is probably great!

Yeah – she is Andalucia yes? I’m doing Roman/Islamic Spain (lots of stuff in that area) I have 18 months to learn at least a little Spanish (it seems so rude not to) I’ve done Italian, French, Greek and Latin, but no Spanish.

Yes, I’m in Andalucia , in a tiny pueblo blanco– the closest city is Ronda. There is a ruined Roman theatre nearby at Acinipo, Arab baths that have been excavated and restored somewhat so you can visit them, The remnant of a mihrab marks the church of Santa Maria Mayor as the mosque it was before King Ferdinand and his knights took the city and made it into a church. The Moorish murallas have been restored (not entirely faithfully). There used to be part of a Roman aqueduct near the Sevilla road, but I’m not sure if it’s still there. As you say, there’s lots of stuff all through here.

Managing Spanish if you know other Romance languages is not difficult. The key words you need, however, are idiomatic, e.g., “servicios?” means “where’s the restroom?” I’d be happy to help.

Agree about the Romance languages. I took quite a few years of Latin and have had no problem with French, Spanish and Italian. I also took some Greek in college. But I’ve never spoken it. Well, not much anyway.

I agree…Romance language cursing still sounds pretty to my American ear…Greek cursing has a kind of staccato harshness that reinforces the point. (Although, as a woman, I don’t think I’m supposed to appreciated that 🙂 )

The really bad stuff in Iberian Spanish has a tone as if you are scolding a pet and often the translation does not seem as appalling as the meaning really is. The hand gestures that women use among themselves are silent but particularly expressive (e.g., the extended pinky droops).

I don’t have the full itinerary mapped out – a colleague and I are coming over next summer – in August (she says will be I quote “hot as balls”) but it’s the only time we can both go- to map things out and get a feel for how things work. I used a tour company in Greece, but I’m not sure what we’re doing in Spain yet. It just sort of came up – along with the funding to pay for faculty participation (thanks to some creative budgeting)

I definitely want to include some time in Madrid with a side trip to Segovia. I suspect that I will be in an area moving between Seville, Cordoba and Valencia…she’ll be up around Barcelona focusing on the Spanish Civil War. The idea is to book the airfare as one group and then split up based on which students want which courses – I’m running to concurrently to maximize our draw.

That could be a little awkward. The best way IMO to get around Spain is by rail. Madrid connects to Sevilla by Ave, a very fast train. There’s a decent Sevilla to Cordoba run, but Valencia is probably easier to get to if you go back through Madrid, which is the country’s rail hub. You can get an idea of routes, types of trains, and prices at renfe.es. I recommend not only the side trip to Segovia, but also a day trip to Toledo. Depending on the makeup and disposition of your group, you may want to look into staying at one of the convents that offers accommodations.

With all those languages under your belt you probably already speak Spanish without even realising it! Son is reading Latin, French and Italian at uni: he tells me that if he reads a newspaper article in Spanish he can get the gist of it at the very least.

Fantastic service, Servetus! I was so disappointed that I couldn’t read it, but just trust the Armitage Army that someone is kimd enough to do this.
Nice interview, quite to the point, very little about non-related Armitage. Clever, clever man!

You seem to have a few spare degrees that you might not need, could I have one please? As agzy said its just so casually mentioned!

It’s a good article, thoughtful questions with RA answering them thoroughly. I look forward to reading more of them. I think there are some coming from Outer Mongolia and Latvia so I am assuming you will be doing the translation for those as well.

OK — thanks for the clarification! No, I don’t get hits from there (neither from the state of Mongolia, nor, apparently from China — although I suspect that maybe this site is not visible in China). Also, I can’t read any of those scripts except I can pronounce the Cyrillic (another youthful folly — ah, the language courses we will take a semester of for love). So, Rosiepig, I am pretty sure you will have to take this over when it arises. I’ll be in touch.

Thanks for this Serv.. didn’t know about your BA in Spanish sandwiched between Maths and Nuclear Engineering LOL (sorry! Joking!) Anyway YOU ROCK!!! Should there be an Italian article I’ll have a go at that. 🙂

Oh, terrific! Thanks so much for translating this article, Servetus–I saw a small picture of it online and loved the photo but the words were too blurry to read when I enlarged it.
I loved hearing more about his audition! That description was the best yet. I knew all the candidates had read for Thorin, but I wondered what else went into the decisionmaking process. So he was injured in the shoulder during that Spooks stunt…I wonder when all that happened.
Wow, a BA in Spanish, too? Lovely.

Thanks for the translation. I was also thinking of Mulibinba when I read about him auditioning for Bard. All her early work may well have contributed to get him the audition. I miss her blog and hope that she gets to enjoy all the hobbity madness that are now escalating by the minute

LOL, I used to be a much better walking RA archive than I am now! I think he mentioned should and neck problems, thought I don’t recall an injury. During RH the press always said he was responsible for injuries Keith Allen and Jonas Armstrong got during filming, though at least in the first case that isn’t necessarily true.

Thank you, this was really interesting. And so he did audition for Bard as well, this was a role that many RA fangirls wanted him to get – and they were much closer to the mark than many gave them credit for a the time it seems!!

I freely admit that I did put down anyone who mentioned a hope that RA could be cast as Bard because I was convinced it would be totally out of his league. I also freely admit that I was wrong and apologize.

My feeling is always that these fan campaigns don’t influence anything — they merely serve to get fans excited about spending money. However, it looks like in this case they were paying more attention than we realized.

Yes, thank you for the translation and for being so giving. RA is such an eloquent and expressive person. I especially liked that he talked about acts of faith and being blessed. Oh well, back to the Pride and Prejudice marathon — Darcy’s just about to dive into the lake.